Sweet Wine to Vinegar
by minniegoetze
Summary: Cam and Vincent have been dating under everyone's noses for months to stay out of lab gossip. However, that day their relationship came to a head in more ways than they could've imagined. (Somewhat AU. Takes place during season 6,The Hole in the Heart.)
1. A Thought

**Author's Note: Even though Bones is finished and Vincent is long long gone, my love for Bones has totally re-surfaced as I've been home from college. Nearly a dEcAdE ago on Tumblr, I was one of the "founding fathers" of vimille (Vincent/Camille) in the Bones community along with a few other amazing and sweet fangirls. I often thought about an AU kinda thing where Cam and Vincent are madly in love and have a baby; I just thought that Cam would be adorable pregnant and that Vincent would be such a doting dad-to-be. Yes, weird, but my friends were totally into it and it was such a fun time in my life and the ship still holds a place in my heart. /3 This fic is half AU, half in the canon taking place in Season 6 during The Hole in the Heart, though some of the details of that episode probably aren't included since I can't bear to re-watch that episode yet. Enjoy.~~**

* * *

"You know, Vincent, you really didn't have to go out of your way and actually cook something." Cam said over the small wooden table in Vincent's cramped kitchen. He had invited her over for a "romantic tryst of culinary refinement" and was pressed on concocting a legitimate meal.

Vincent was sitting on his haunches in front of the stove, waiting on his casserole. "Well, I was surely not going to invite you to come eat unromantic, sad Chinese food. This casserole will positively dazzle you, I promise."

Cam playfully rolled her eyes. She had quickly understood how hard he tried to impress her, in and out of the lab. He wasn't totally inept, she knew that, even though it had taken her and Brennan awhile to realize it. It was endearing, really, how hard he tried compared to the other men she had dated and one also couldn't deny how adorable he managed to look with his furrowed brow, eyes locked with the casserole as if it were a daunting puzzle to be reckoned with.

While he waited breathlessly on the food, Cam took the opportunity to fully survey his apartment. Whenever she would come over, she'd often avoid doing so fearing that she'd be fraught with guilt over how little the Jeffersonian allotted to their grad students. He shared it with an archeology grad student named Rick who from what Cam could gather, left a very light tread in the apartment. She had seen him a grand total of once when she had come over to "review Vincent's dissertation" and he had walked in on them kissing, leaving Cam mortified. That was one of the hurdles that she thought she would never have to deal with again once she got older—roommates. There was also the cheap, mostly plastic kitchen, hearing about schoolwork and studying, and of course the ever-famous dependence on ramen noodles. Yes, this relationship had made Cam confront a few uncomfortable things. She was never one to be ashamed of her age-outside of the "normal" societal shame of a woman's age-but spending time with Vincent definitely made her a bit more considerate of it. Naturally, he reassured her that he never considered her age as well as citing anthropological evidence about respective societies and their naturalized definitions of the "acceptable age gap."

Such an issue would be a great thing to discuss with Brennan and Angela, her fellow over-thirty-in-arms, but of course she couldn't. Right off the bat, Cam refused to allow Vincent to tell anyone about their relationship, even when it hadn't gone past getting drinks. Being a woman of color in her position of authority was already difficult, but being a woman of color who was also shtuping an intern would be a completely different calamity. Admittedly, she did worry if he took that as resistance of the relationship, but she had been too nervous to even think about how to start that conversation.

"Ah, viola!" Vincent swiftly took the food out of the oven and divided some of it up on two plates. He proudly placed one in front of Cam as he took a seat beside her. She poured him and herself a glass of wine, wine that she had ultimately bought herself to relieve some of her guilt. "So how _is_ the dissertation actually going?" She asked.

He took a generous sip of the wine. "Did you know that Harvard has the largest academic library in the world with 15.8 million volumes?"

"I take it you're stuck?" She prodded.

"Technically, Cam, since Dr. Brennan is my advisor she is the only one who must contend with my dissertation." He quickly finished the glass, making a face as it went down. "When it's eventually finished and polished to perfection then you _may_ be able to hear about it."

"Ah, key word: eventually. I don't have to be your advisor to tell you that the sooner you start working on it the better." She took a fork-full of the casserole. "And you'd be appreciative of any attention or comments a peer would be willing offer."

"Oh, I am quiteeeee appreciative of your attention." He drew out the "e" sound and leaned in for a kiss, clearly becoming slightly intoxicated. She returned a soft peck, but pulled the wine away from him so as not to completely push him off the edge of sobriety.

Vincent made a willful face at her denial, though he eventually became equally fixated on his casserole. "How is Michelle doing?" He asked.

Cam sighed, her dishevelment showing. "Actually, this week she had been driving me to allow her to go on a ski trip with some friends from school. Obviously, I don't particularly want her to go since I don't know any of the kids she's going with, but I felt obligated to considering she's been at home alone a lot with the Broadsky case going on." She dug into the casserole too; when she let herself actually taste it, she realized it wasn't all that bad.

"Oh yes, the classic parental dichotomy between restraint and allowance."

On second thought, maybe the casserole was much worse than she gave him credit for as she had a strong urge to vomit. She abruptly stood up from the table and fled to the restroom, covering her mouth. Kneeling over the toilet she gracelessly upchucked the casserole and even parts of her lunch. After giving herself a chance to rest, she peeled herself off of the floor and rinsed her face in the sink.

Well, explaining her body's immediate rejection of her doe-eyed boyfriend's cooking would certainly be fun. But on one hand, how much could Vincent truly mess up a simple casserole? He was well on his way to obtaining a doctorate, after all. Furthermore, Cam truly prided herself on her iron stomach since her occupation practically demanded it.

A certain thought was trying to finagle its way into her head, a thought she had disregarded years ago. No, it was stupid. Yes, completely ridiculous. She was nearly 40 now, and as her gynecologist so eloquently described: her fertility "was as far gone as Jimmy Hoffa." Embarrassingly, she also had not exactly been practicing what she preached to Michelle about the importance of protection. She did remember asking her gynecologist about the pill or implant, but she simply scoffed at the request. Cam made a mental note to change doctors.

"Are you alright?" Vincent asked when she eventually immerged from the bathroom.

"Oh, yes, I'll be okay. My stomach is just a bit-urm- sensitive today that's all." She sat down at the table, attempting to throw that nagging thought out of her head before she said anything incriminating. He reached out and grabbed her shoulder, "I know what's wrong," he said. Cam's eyes went wide.

"It was too dry! And I think I added too much salt, I should be more careful next time."

"Oh," She made a worried face and grabbed his hand. "No, that's not it at all. I admire that you were so jung-ho to make me dinner, and it's just that none of us are feeling like ourselves with this stressful case." Leaning in, she gave him a reserved yet reassuring kiss. "I loved dinner."

Vincent held her face close to his as he rubbed her hand. "I…" He swallowed. "The Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea use yams to assert not only wealth, but proximity to chiefdom and sexual dominance."

The sudden mood shift triggered an embarrassing, partial snort laugh to come from Cam. "Yes, Vincent, I took introductory anthropology as well."

They both laughed, still sitting close. He continued to hold her eyes, taking in their pearlescent, chestnut color. She kissed the warming smile on his face and allowed the kiss to deepen.

Vincent shoved the plates aside, fully taking her into his lanky arms. He pulled her towards his room, away from the kitchen. "What about your casserole?" She laughed at his refreshing enthusiasm even though she had quite recently vomited in his bathroom.

"Oh, I'm sure Rick would be more than happy to take care of it." Winning her over with his boyish smile, framed by his dazzling eyes, he whisked her into his arms.

 **Author's Note: Dissertations, gynecology, oh my! I haven't written creatively, let alone a fanfic, in so long pls be nice.**


	2. Void of Uncertainty

**Author's Note: Keep in mind that this was a head canon that I conceived when I was 13 years-old be considerate lol.**

* * *

Cam's alarm on her phone began chirping at 6:30. As she opened her eyes, she felt groggy, but still gleaming from the night before. She rolled over to the other side of the bed, gazing upon the snoozing Vincent who was clearly still lost in sleep.

"Vincent, c'mon it's morning." She gave him a gentle nudge, but all he did was roll over onto his other side. Slightly annoyed, but still feeling kind, she kissed his temple. "I am so writing you up when you show up late for work."

She got up from the bed and started getting dressed, remembering to leave a gushy note for him on his nightstand. It was an interesting adjustment for her, showing such affection. As she was putting on her stockings, though, she felt the reel of her stomach and unrest in her abdomen. She quietly-though quickly-made her way to the restroom again.

As she retched over the toilet, again, she began to feel the full weight of the growing dread. From what she could gather, her recent affliction was quite the stomach flu or it was _that_ thought. Things with her body had not been feeling completely normal as of late, that was true. And when she considered it, she had not been keeping careful track of her cycle considering her constant stress at work. This category of fears was no longer hers to fear; they belonged to her twenty-year-old self and thirty-year-old self, not this present self.

Again, no, why get caught up in something so statistically outlandish? Cam finished cleaning her face, managing to scrape together some dignity as she went back to Vincent's room for her stuff. Something kept her in the doorway, however, as she was about to leave. Her eyes were pulled to his unassuming, languorous body and peaceful face.

Looking at him caused a hitch in her throat, and she began to take in his gentle features; this sweet, cute weirdo was willing to give so much of himself to her, yet she was too jaded to always be accepting of it. Sitting on the bed, her soft hand found its way to his face again, and as she let it rest there his eyes fluttered open.

"Hi," he said softly as he sat up to face her, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept fine, but I'm sorry, I'm just a bit anxious to get to work today and I shouldn't stay long." Eyes darting around, Cam tried avoiding his gaze. She was sure he could read her resistance and worry, and for all she knew manage to smell her breath too.

"Of course, it's quite alright." Vincent's eyes pointed downwards as well, hiding some resistance of his own. "But Cam-" He grabbed her hand in his, now looking at her. "I do not have the slightest inkling of how you may feel about this; contrary to popular belief I am not the man of infinite wisdom as I have propagated myself to be."

She softly laughed at this, but let him continue.

"The thing is…I think I'm falling in love with you."

Cam's stomach flipped at his statement, and she suspected her face betrayed a similar jolt. "I don't want you to say anything if you can't, but I just can't keep it to myself anymore…" He looked like a sad puppy as their eyes met, completely pushing Cam off the edge-well, more like completely threw her off the edge.

Her throat hitched again as she felt the moment pass where she was supposed to say something in response. Instead, her hand reached out to his arm and she kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you in the lab, ok?" She squeezed his arm and longed to break away from his withholding gaze, removing herself from the mounting guilt.

When she made her way out of the apartment and into her car to retouch her makeup, she began to cry.

A little while later, Cam was able to to salvage what makeup and perceived calm she could, even though her emotions were intense and chaotic, maybe even mores than she had every really felt. She did, however, just leave a man after he told her he loved her, she hadn't imagined that part.

Her resistance was quiet cliché, she knew. The somewhat stern workaholic who can't reciprocate basic adult affection on a serious level, how truly pathetic. The source of the withholding was difficult for Cam to trace through and understand, but she suspected it was a product of a workplace relationship. With other men outside of the Jeffersonian she was simply Cam, but inside was a more complex set of identities. Coworker, pathologist, friend, boss, director, advisor, FBI associate; she wasn't sure she could comfortably wedge significant other in there as well.

Ignoring her unstable heart and body, Cam built up the momentum to drive to the lab. As she made her way through the traffic-ridden streets, a pharmacy on the left side of the road managed to catch her eye. _That_ thought nudged at her brain again. Arguably, she thought, it was better to know for certain that to keep herself in this throng of anxiety and denial. It took her passing the pharmacy twice before gathering the courage to actually go inside.

Fretfully, she found the correct aisle and studied the massive array of tests. The variety was quite intimidating, but she could recall buying one or two in her slightly more virtuous days. She couldn't recall what brand they had been, or what was even supposed to be the best brand, or what the difference was. She grabbed the most expensive, deeming it the most reliable. Even just looking at the test-safe in its box and free of any life-altering power-struck some degree of fear in her.

Attempting to be inconspicuous, she placed the test on the counter to be rung up. The cashier was an older woman with frizzy brown hair and a gentle face. As she scanned the test, she chuckled to herself. "Y'know ma'm, you really shouldn't be buying these for your daughter; she should have the guts to do it herself."

Cam's eyes widened and her mouth stuttered. "Excuse me, but I am perfectly fertile!" She spitefully grabbed the test and slapped down a $20, not bothering for change or a receipt.

* * *

Well, there it was.

No trace of uncertainty; no perhaps, maybe, or possibly, but "pregnant" in blue and white.

Cam's stomach and throat lurched again, but all together more intensely than before. She didn't truly have a preference for what answer she wanted, so now actually having one left her mind very disjointed; she had to settle on an opinion of this imposing answer. As a woman of science and law, however, she did consider the opposing side of the false positive; all truly wasn't lost.

Leaving the restroom, she decided to perform her own test for a more definitive answer. Unfortunately, that would take awhile as her kidneys would take time to catch up to her racing mind.

Venturing back into her office, Cam went over unresolved parts of their current case while chugging as much water as possible; half of her attention on the actual case and half on her uterus and it's possible strange inhabitant.

Moments later, Angela stode in which disrupted Cam's opposing trains of thought. "Oh! Hi Angela." Now when Cam saw Angela's burgeoning stomach, she considered it differently now. The joy and excitement she felt for her friend and colleague was now replaced by a sense of panic and foreshadowing.

"I have some more information on the ballistics, thought they'd be good to pass onto you." Angela placed a folder on Cam's desk. "Do you need anything else?"

"Actually, Angela, I wanted to ask you something." Cam's question treaded lightly. "Not about the case, though."

Angela's face beamed in surprise. "Could it be, Doctor Camille Saroyan asking me a personal question during work hours?"

Cam's face was slightly annoyed in response. "Look, just be gentle, ok? Hypothetically, if you're seeing someone for a while, and they say I love you, how long is socially acceptable for you to um, wait to respond?"

A knowing grimace crept on Angela's face. "Wow, wow, okay." She sighed. "Well, an immediate response is always best to keep them off their toes, but if it's sudden one can't always turn up a response; everyone understands that I think."

Cam nodded, but her face grew to looking slightly regretful as Angela's smile widened. "Care to tell me who's making you so flustered and love sick?"

Color rushed to Cam's face. "Oh no, it's something that uh Michelle asked me about and I really didn't have a good answer for her." She sputtered.

Angela's eyebrows raised and then her eyes narrowed. "Hm, is that so?" From what Angela had gathered, Michelle—like most teenagers—opted to keep as much away from her mother as possible, especially considering Cam's dogged nature.

"Yep. Is there anything else you need to tell me about?" Cam said between sips of water, the worry evident on her face.

That moment, Vincent walked into Cam's office. "Ah, hello ladies." He walked over proudly. "Did you know that the egg did in fact come before the chicken? Eggs were seen in reptiles who evolved millions of years before the chicken."

Angela and Cam both shared a look of playful annoyance. "Well, that's my cue to leave." Angela said as she left the office.

Cam gave another soft laugh. "What is it Mr. Nigel-Murray?"

"Cam, no one else is here; there's no need for such formalities."

She made a slightly more annoyed face which he quickly understood. "Ok, ok. _Dr. Saroyan_ , I found some minute nicks on the bone. They could've been from another injury inflicted on the victim or even another bullet." He finished, eyes gleaming.

"For one thing, why tell me and not Dr. Brennan and secondly, we know that Broadsky consistently only uses one bullet, so it might possibly not be relevant to the murder at all." She stated matter-of-factly, regardless of the strange air.

"Ah yes, very true, but it's always in science's best interest to perceive and identify every clue, no matter how small. And in all seriousness, those nicks were very hard to find, just thought you should know." He leaned closer to her, his dopey smile appearing.

The annoyance grew. "Would you like a gold star for your findings, Mr. Nigel-Murray?"

"No, but I wouldn't mind this." He leaned in further and softly kissed her. It was slow, deliberate, and brought even more warmth to her face. Her thoughts scrambled as the kiss mixed with this strange, sterile air of the lab. He gave a slight whimper as she returned and deepened the kiss, making him blush as well. This was the time to tell him, Cam thought. If she were a truly good person, she would tell him about the test and tell him how she felt. Instead, she pulled away.

"Glass walls, Mr. Nigel-Murray." Her eyes gestured to the large windows that enclosed most of her office.

"R-right." He smiles still blushing. Neither of them could believe she let him to that.

She stood up, quietly grabbing her empty plastic cup. "I'll await any insights Dr. Brennan has on those marks on the bones." A trying, but gentle smile appeared on her face. "Good job."

* * *

Stealthily, she got the pee from the bathroom and into beaker. This was certainly one of the weirdest things she'd done at work, but definitely not the grossest.

As she waited for the test to run, her mind wandered to Vincent. Who would've known that her frivolous acceptance of his invitation for dinner all that time ago could manifest into something so completely unexpected? She had agreed to go with him on the basis of his being admittedly being kinda cute and her personal life being extremely boring outside of work, but he had completely charmed her and continued to ever since then. It wasn't supposed to, but it welled up inside her and left her feeling all doe-eyed and fuzzy like she was a teenager again. They hadn't truly defined "the relationship" yet and she often avoided it, but now this new thought was forcing her to, no trace of uncertainty.

"Why are you running a test for human placental lactogen?" A voice ruptured Cam from her comatose state. It was Hodgins.

"H-huh?" She responded.

He gestured to the data on the screen nest to her. "Our victim was a male. There shouldn't be any reason to run a test on that. Furthermore, no way we could get his urine let alone need it." A suspicious, yet jovial tone was rising in his voice.

"Yes, I know that Hodgins, but it's for another case."

Hodgin's inquisitive face grew. "Yet the FBI ordered that the Broadsky case take complete precedent over any other...hm."

Cam's panic grew, and it was certainly noticeable on her face.

"Oh my god," his soared with her anxieties. " _You're_ pregnant."

Her face worsened, why bother defending herself at this point against the sharp Hodgins.

"Frankly, I'm more shocked at the idea you'd be taking work time to test it." He said. "So, it is one of those sci-fi sperm donor things? I had a few buddies in grad school who did that to make some extra cash."

"Uhm, well yes, it is. I just figured I would try it and-and see if it worked." She said as casually as she could muster.

"Well, congrats!"

Cam's face was perplexed for a second. "Oh, yeah, um thanks!" Her face turned to something between confusion and intrigue.

Hodgins tilted his head to the side, slightly narrowing his eyes, much like Angela had mere minutes prior. "Well," he said, snapping out of his careful observation. "I'll just leave you to it then."

As he left, Cam sighed. This was going to be very complicated indeed.


	3. Forward Energy

**Author's Note: I haven't written one of these in so long that I forgot about the disclaimers you're supposed to put at the beginning, but no I refuse to. Please arrest me, Hart Hanson.**

* * *

Angela cornered Hodgins in the examination room. "Hod-gins you will not believe what scandalous info I just heard." She waddled over to him with purpose, face bright with pure gossip.

Hodgins' face was equally excited. "Oh man, me too babe." When the two of them got buzzing with activity about something, it was pure electricity. While good friends to Cam, they were also awful at keeping secrets let alone from each other.

Grabbing his arm, Angela lowered her voice. "Cam just asked me the _weirdest_ thing. She was asking how long you're allowed to wait to respond to someone saying 'I love you.' I had no idea she was dating anyone, let alone it was so serious!" Her voice got excited toward the end. "She said she was simply passing on a question from Michelle, but I know that when I was a teenager the very _last_ thing I was telling my parents about were my boyfriends."

"It's nice to know that things have sort of changed." Hodgins snickered.

She rolled her eyes in response, but playfully. "What was _your_ hot gossip, handsome?"

"Well, well, Cam is living quite the life outside of the lab. Turns out she's _pregnant_. Now, she told me it was some sperm donor thing, but oh man she was so flustered it was obviously a total bluff." He said with sheer intuitive glee.

"Oh. My. God. That is insanity!" Her true excitement betrayed her previously considerate, hushed tone.

With perfect timing as usual, Vincent poked his head into the examination room. "What is such insanity?"

Hodgins and Angela squealed in unison. "Maybe keep it to yourself for now," Hodgins leaned in closer to Vincent. "But Cam's pregnant."

In a mere second, Vincent's legs grew numb and his head felt faint. It…couldn't be, he thought. Well, statistically and biologically it was very possible, but this couldn't actually be happening to _him._ Perhaps it was a simple miscommunication, or even a false positive.

"Yeah, she was testing the pee in her office and everything, I saw the results myself." Hodgins added.

Okay, maybe it was actually legitimate. Hodgins was excitable, but not one to make baseless gossip.

"What? No facts on that Vincent?" Angela laughed, completely unaware of the anxiety bomb the couple had dropped on the young intern.

Vincent's throat grew dry and hoarse, but attempted to throw off a laugh. "All babies are born with blue eyes, regardless of the eyes of the parents. The actual pigment develops afterwards."

This fact actually managed to cause some comfort and amusement on their faces, considering their own blooming baby joy. "You hear that, babe? Our baby's going to be sporting these bright blues." Hodgins smiled up at Angela, meeting her equally warm smile.

"I-is Cam-ahem! I mean, Dr. Saroyan in her office?" He sputtered as the sweat and nerves built up in his throat.

"You know," Angela said breaking away from Hodgins' embrace. "I remember her telling me a few days ago that she had some mind-numbingly boring administrative meeting to show up for and was going to take a good chunk of the afternoon; pretty inconsiderate of the Jeffersonian considering all we have going on right now."

Vincent gave a tense nod. "If you see Dr. Brennan, please tell her I'm taking my lunch break early." He turned on his heel, not leaving a window for the glowing Angela and Hodgins to drop more alarming news onto him. He numbly carried himself to the break room where he sat down and loosened his tie.

Chest tightening, he let his head fall into his hands. He didn't know how he was feeling, it was such a momentous thing to process especially when it came from his semi-oblivious friends and not Cam herself.

Their simple, hidden, and shared life had produced another _person,_ as if out of thin air. Though he was almost 30, very few of his friends back home had gotten married or had children making the concept especially alien to him. As most young adults, he expected meeting certain milestones before children. They were like steps, like one couldn't happen without the other. You date, move in, get engaged, get married, buy a house, and then have the baby; not date for almost a year, feel too guilty and timid to ask if they could tell their friends about their relationship, and then have a baby as was his situation. But he would've relished in those milestones though, he knew that, and maybe on some level she might too.

Some kind of energy was gathering in Vincent's stomach, like a wave gathering momentum to crash on the shore. He didn't know how Cam felt, nor how one was supposed to even act or feel in these kinds of situations. What he did know was that he loved her.

* * *

While Vincent rode the downtown bus, each of its jostles further agitated the butterflies growing in his stomach. He could recall the last time he had such intense butterflies. It had been right towards the end of his very first case at the Jeffersonian almost two years ago. He had pleaded with Cam to get him out of his internship without harming his relationship with Dr. Brennan since he deemed the environment too stuffy and unwelcoming; Oh if only that Vincent could've seen himself now.

When the two parted ways, Cam turned and called him "Vinodelectable" to his back, a reference to the inappropriate nickname he had dropped earlier in the case. Her comment made his heart race, cheeks flush, and speech stuttered as she still managed to do this very day.

After that first encounter, Vincent had immediately withdrew his request to be taken off the cycle of interns. Cam was somewhat cold and irritated by him when he first came back, but gradually through his bumbling English charm he was able convince her to go to dinner with him, and the rest was history.

The idea that he couldn't tell anyone at the Jeffersonian had been difficult for him. Sometimes, his adoration for made him feel so full and even tipsy he wanted nothing more than to to stand on the balcony of the lab and proclaim his love for her. However, he did respect her and her decision to keep it quiet, but it didn't completely quench his restlessness.

As the bus pulled into the correct stop, his attention perked up. Getting out and walking up the block, he continued to be pushed by his pure intoxication of love. The forward energy pushed himself through the grandiose entrance to the jewelry store. As his eyes considered the cases of refinery manned by vicious looking salespeople he realized that it could've been easier to go to a pawn shop, but this pure and newfound push of energy seemed to demand the best.

Adorned with endless shine and plenty intimidation, the massive array of choices left Vincent completely stunned. Other than his mother, the only exposure he ever had to legitimate jewelry such as this was through the many gifts Hodgins' would give to Angela, but he realized gifts of that caliber were well out of his price range.

"Good afternoon, sir!" Vincent gleamed to the closest salesman. He was quite tall with dark skin, strong features, and imposing eyes. "I am interested in procuring an engagement ring."

The man's eyes widened a little as if Vincent has asked to buy a two-headed lamb. "Well, ahem 'chap,' what _kind_ of ring are you looking for?"

Vincent's face contorted in deep focus. "Something quite chic, definitely. No gold though, I don't think that would be right for her. Nothing too large as I'm sure she would appreciate a degree of subtly. And…" He softly coughed. "Something under $1,700."

The salesman bit his cheek and studied Vincent for a while as if he was a difficult paradox in need of decoding. "Obviously we don't have _much_ in that price range, but I think I have one in mind that might work." He hurried to another counter in the store and came back with a ring display. On it was a ring with a silver band with one moderately-sized, square diamond bookended by two smaller ones.

Leaning on his elbows, Vincent considered it with full focus. It was nice, though he truly didn't have a grasp on what was or wasn't stylish. He enjoyed how the diamond didn't just sit by itself, but was given some character by the two smaller ones and how they brilliantly reflected off of each other. His mind conjured an image of it being adorned on one of Cam's soft, gentle fingers and the image brought warm blood to his face.

The once placid face of the salesman began to smile a bit as well. "This is the one, I can tell." He grabbed a small box from belong the counter and brought it to the register. "I'm sure she'll say yes."

Throat catching as the price appeared on the cash register, Vincent made a face. "Okay," He took out his Velcro Doctor Who wallet, a treasure of his youth, and fished out a crumple of cash and two cards. "Let's do $200 in cash, $600 on the debit card, and $950 on the credit card."

Somewhat deflated and slightly irritated, the salesman accepted the perplexing method of payment. As he handed Vincent a receipt and the ring box, he threw Vincent one final quizzical look. "Good luck."

Waiting at the bus stop, backpack over one shoulder and ring box in his hand, his mind began to buzz again. How was he going to do it? Should he do it over dinner, or right there in the lab? And more importantly, what was he going to even say? What was she going to say? Stomach flipping, he began to compose the words in his head. Too flustered to retain any thread of words, he took out a sheet of paper and a pen from his backpack and began to write.

Vincent was so deep into his proposal that he barely noticed the bus pull up to the stop. Neurons still electric, he took a seat by the window and took time to think about what his life was about to be.

 **Author's note: I know that dialogue between Angela and Hodgins was so o o bad, I apologize. Also, I have zero experience with the pricing of engagement rings omg I'm sorry in advance if $1.7k is a laughable amount. Omlll I still don't know how I feel about the whole engagement thing, let alone this story in general, but I am being propelled by sheer preteen redemption and I will not be stopped.**


	4. Keep With Me

Cam returned from her lengthy meeting feeling more mentally and physically disheveled than ever, and for reasons far from the never-ending drawl that her meetings normally consisted of. The typical bureaucratic garbage had been overpowered by the worry stirring in her uterus and the strange feelings that now occupied it.

During the meeting, she would stare out the window or at her blank notes and wonder about it. She was going to tell Vincent…at some point. He was young, but she knew that he would eventually and excitedly come around to the idea of a baby. However, she also knew that he wouldn't really consider what this new person would bring. They would be forced to inform parents, colleagues, and face the judgement of all involved. Additionally, less Cam forget about the sheer oddness of welcoming a baby while her other baby started college.

Then there was that _other_ subject that typically accompanied the discussion of a baby, a subject that Cam had unresolved feelings about since her broken engagement to Andrew, Michelle's father.

As she walked through the glass doors to the lab, she glanced at her phone and noticed the two missed calls from Vincent which caused a slight sense of worry in the back of her head. When she looked up at platform, she saw him gamely explaining something to Dr. Brennan with Booth nearby trying-and failing-to maintain a sense of interest.

Seeing him now after being so alone with her worry for the past few hours, she realized that she didn't want to keep it to herself anymore. The baby, her feelings, any of it. Unlike most of her life, she now wanted to share it with him.

It had happened quicker than Cam expected, and she processed it much slower.

She heard the shatter of the skylight first, followed by the shouts of Brennan and Booth. And then she saw the blood. Standing still for what almost felt like hours, she was left in pure shock. Every blood vessel ran cold, ever sound was muffled, every heave in her chest felt like her last.

A fleeting connection between her body and her brain propelled her onto the platform, not bothering with her ID card which caused a belligerent alarm in her ear. The tears and emotion began to build behind her eyes when she saw him, laying on the ground, the blood slowly pooling below him.

There was a light of recognition on Vincent's face as the drained energy in Cam's body pushed her to the ground, kneeling next to Brennan and placing her hand over hers in their attempts to slow the bleeding. Vincent felt his heart retching, pushing itself to just keep beating.

"P-Please, don't make me leave. I-I can't leave." He begged with a strain in his voice.

"Vincent! Vincent!" Brennan pleaded, her voice and emotion rising. "You can't, you belong here with us." Brennan's crying was quickly followed by Cam's.

Blood was coming through Brennan's hands and onto Cam's; the feeling unnerved her as she stared upon his pained expression and she could feel her throat closing up in stress and fear.

As Booth tried to relieve the distraught women, his throat became tight as he was forced to witness their pure fear and unrest. "Vincent, buddy, stay with us." He said through gritted teeth.

Eyes now blurry from tears, Cam's shaky voice attempted to reach him. "Vincent! Y-you can't leave because you're…going to be a father. You can't be taken from this little person, and from me, b-because I love you."

Another point of recognition flicked in Vincent's face as he tried to move his hand to touch Cam's arm while his face constricted in pain and sadness. "I-I love our baby, and I love you…too. I don't-don't want to leave you."

He tried to muster a smile, but the pain and numbness building in different parts of his body was overpowering him. In response to Brennan and Cam's cries he could only muster a whimper and a few guttural breaths and then, none more.

* * *

Once they had lost him, Cam and Brennan collapsed on him in utter grief and loss. It was as if their stamina to live was lost with his, like when he was gone a piece of them was lost as well. Witnessing the sheer pain, Booth didn't the wherewithal to pull them away. They had been entrusted to protect him, Booth thought, ultimately everyone in the lab had been, but the two of them most of all.

After the FBI did a sweep of the building, the paramedics stepped onto the platform to collect Vincent, but knowing fully well they couldn't do anything to save him. They stood patiently with their heads down, not wanting to push or further upset the two distraught women by pulling them off. After a while, Booth had gone in to try and pull Brennan away, but she turned around and inadvertently smacked him. "What?! What are they doing here?!" Brennan said when she saw the paramedics. "There's nothing you can do to help here, he-he's gone!"

"Bones…" He said as the remaining calm left his voice being replaced by his own bubbling unrest. She looked at him with a pleading gaze, as if silently pleading for him to bring Vincent back. He reeled her into an embrace as her crying heightened again. Her tears soaked into his jacket shoulder; he was now turning into an emotional sponge, mentally and in actuality. When he released her from his embrace, regretfully so, one of the gentler paramedics took Brennan's hand and lead her to sit down, away from Vincent.

Booth then turned to Cam who remained kneeling over Vincent just staring, completely despondent but still stained with tears and blood.

Cam felt Booth kneeling down next to her, but barely registered it as if her brain couldn't pick up any more pieces of input from the outside world. He put a hand on back and slowly rubbed it. "Cam," he said, the sadness returning to his throat. "I need you to get up."

She took a sharp intake of breath. "Seeley, you don't understand." Some distant part of her could appreciate Booth's gesture, she really could, but it was overpowered by this gaping hole in her chest. Mere minutes ago, her life felt so full as she began to accept this new presence and the potential unrest it could bring, and now she was left with nothing but emptiness.

"You're right." He sputtered. "I never will, Camille. But what I do know is that you're still going to wake up every day to a completely new one. You'll never have to live this one again." Booth coaxed her into his arms as she broke down again, pulling her off the floor.


	5. Delayed

No one could sleep; no one wanted to less they woke up believing that Vincent was still alive, and seconds later being confronted with the grim realization. Or maybe, a resistance to ending the day could somehow keep his death from actually registering in the universe. Brennan, Angela, Hodgins, Sweets, Booth, and Cam were huddled in the one of the conference rooms of the FBI building. They all would've preferred the familiar comfort of the lab, but the FBI agents decided they would be safest away from the Jeffersonain since Broadsky was still out there, and he could very well be plotting another assasination.

Both Brennan and Cam were still smeared with remnants of blood, but all of their eyes were stained with varying degrees of tears. Such communal grieving was odd in theory, but if they stayed together and were removed from the outside world long enough maybe they would somehow be saved from dealing with this conundrum.

Angela broke the silence and turned to Cam, holding her hand. "I'm going to set you up with an appointment with my doctor. Take all of the time you need, but it's important that you make sure everything's alright in there."

Cam couldn't even think about that right now, but she did appreciate the distraction on some level. "Thank you, Angela." She heaved. The change in topic was nice though it also unleashed another level of realization in the group, another level of loss, another life to grieve in a sense.

Sweets took a deep intake of breath. "I-I just can't believe any of it. I mean, we've looked at hundreds of senseless, crushing murders like this but rarely do we gather the complete unrest they carry." Though psychological analysis was rarely accepted by the majority of the group, it was his unique way of coping and they could appreciate that.

Cam gave a hum of recognition, but began to fall in another state of distraction until Hodgins spoke up. "Who is going to call his parents?" He said, face fraught with worry.

Cam sniffled. "As his employer, that would technically fall on me."

Sweets' face grew pained. "No, Cam. You do now have to do that. I can do it, I'll be able to handle the sensitivity of the situation."

Brennan's voice teetered with intensity. "I was his advisor; I hold a level of obligation to his family as well. I could make the call too." She said with her celery-green eyes glazing over.

"Yeah, Cam, maybe you should take some time." Booth added, reaching for her arm. "No one is making you do this right now." He was desperate to reach out to his old friend and to somehow alleviate her suffering, if only he could.

"Thank you, everyone, but no." She stood up resolutely. "I was entrusted with keeping him safe, and I need to do this."

Leaving the conference room and grabbing her briefcase, Cam walked down the hallway until she found another vacant room. Numbly sitting down in front of landline in the middle of the table, she pulled out Vincent's file.

As she opened it, she was thrown by the presence of his ID picture on the first page. In the picture, he wore his trademark beaming, charming smile and kind, bright eyes. Her mind was flushed with every time she had reveled in those eyes and then hit by how she'd never be able to again.

She swallowed hard, trying to stifle another crying fit. She flipped the page, scanning for the emergency contact number. She calculated that it was a relatively appropriate time in England as she dialed the lengthy phone number.

"Hello?" An English man's voice answered.

"G-Good morning. Is this Mr. Nigel-Murray, Vincent's father? I am Dr. Camille Saroyan calling from the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington D.C." She tried to hide her level of quaking nerves from her voice.

"Yes, this is he. What is this about?" His voice was gentle, Cam noticed, but it betrayed a slight sense of concern.

Cam was silent as if she expected the words to simply fall out of her mouth without any work of her brain. "I am not sure if Mr. Nigel-Murray informed you, but lately we have been working on a very dangerous case of a serial killer. And, well…" She could hear some unidentifiable noise from Vincent's father. "H-he…there was…" Her tears were bubbling up again, and the wave of emotion crashed.

"Patricia! I-It's Vincent. Come here!" Vincent's father bellowed over phone.

"What is it, James?" The woman who Cam assumed was Patricia, Vincent's mother, said.

"Vincent…he's…something's wrong." James' voice was echoing a similar wave of emotions. "Please, tell us what happened, miss."

"He passed away…" The tears came now, there wasn't any use in fighting it as she gave into the familiar heave. Putting her hand over her mouth, Cam heard similar sounds from James and a scream from Patricia, she pulled the headset away. After taking a moment to gather herself and breathe, the picked up the phone again.

"Arrangements will soon be made for his body to be shipped to England. Someone from the embassy will be in touch with you about that."

"But, how miss? Did you catch the person who did this?!" Patricia cried over the phone sounding not much unlike Cam did mere hours ago.

She took another deep breath. "It's an ongoing investigation, Mrs. Nigel-Murray, I can't disclose anything.

"Really? You can't _disclose_ anything to a mother who just lost her son?" Patricia's voice cracked and Cam could feel the intense wave of the mother's sorrow through the phone.

"Patricia, please." James' voice came through the phone, now much calmer. "She didn't do this to him, don't get upset." As Patricia pulled away, Cam could still hear her sobs. "Now," James continued. "Will you please leave my wife and I to grieve alone?"

A lump built in Cam's throat. "Actually, Mr. Nigel-Murray, there's something else." Recalling the little person stowed away in her stomach threw Cam's emotions into another heave.

She knew she had to; she had avoided telling Vincent because she was scared and now she could never know what he really wanted or felt. She was, however, conscious of what unknown territory this looming piece of information would bring. Vincent had mentioned his parents, but she had never gathered how they might feel about his relationship with her or how they felt about a baby conceived out of marriage, let alone out of an unspoken relationship.

Breathing deeply, Cam began. "In all honesty, sir, I do not know how to put this. Your son and I were seeing each other for nearly a year and I was…well I am, pregnant." Once she began, the pain was too great to stop. The line was silent save for the sound of labored breathing. Cam's brows furrowed in worry. "I know this is an awful time, but I knew you should at least know…" There was another beat, and then the phone was disconnected.

Setting the phone down, her stomach hitched again, but managed to keep any tears at bay. The reasonable part of her brain reminded herself that no one's response to grief is predictable or expected, but the raw part of her psyche couldn't help but feel the sting the hung up left her with. Eyes red, she glanced back to Vincent's folder and turned over the front page with his picture. Uncharacteristically, she took it, gently folded it, and stuck it in her pocket.

* * *

When Cam returned to the conference room, she was struck by the shared glances of worry from her friends. They were like a wall of mirrors which each reflecting and personifying the permanent ache that was growing in her heart.

No one needed to ask how it went as the pain and confusion was evident on her face. As she sat down, she heard Booth say something about the phone call. She rested her head on her folded elbows. Maybe Angela tried to rub her back. She took some labored breaths. Maybe Booth said something about getting food. Her eyes were growing heavy. Maybe Booth and Hodgins bickered about what to get. She thought about feeling Vincent's heart ceasing to beat in her hand. Maybe someone laughed. She let sleep pull her away from this world, from this day.


	6. Little Person

**Author's Note: I'd just like to thank everyone who has even bothered to click on this story. Whether you reviewed, favorited, followed or even if you immediately clicked off when you realized what the head canon consisted of, I'm very grateful.**

* * *

Dawn was spilling into the large windows of the conference room when Cam was jolted awake by her cellphone. Looking around the room, she saw that her friends had all fallen asleep in similar positions. She also noticed the Chinese food spread on the table meant they had tried to eat something, but the food was ultimately left untouched as if no one could really stomach the idea of it.

Rubbing her eyes, Cam looked at the caller ID on her phone. It was an unknown call from England. She was confused for a second, then filled with parts worry and relief the next. Quickly, she left the room and tentatively answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hello…is this Dr. Camille Saroyan?" It was Vincent's mother, Patricia. Her voice was softer now, but still had a twinge of sadness.

"Yes, this is she." Her heart beat quickened at the sheer mystery of the call.

Patricia took a deep breath. "Dear, my husband's sorry- _we're_ sorry for how we behaved on the phone earlier today. We just needed time, it was all too much at once. We had heard he was seeing someone, but never to hear anything about, her not even her name…"

Cam's voice softened. "I completely understand, Mrs. Nigel-Murray."

"No, dear, call me Patricia, please." Lightening her tone, she continued. "I know you understand, if you loved him like my dear James and I did you'd-you'd feel the true weight of what our world has lost."

A hitch in Cam's throat grew. "I do, I really do. Patricia, I also wanted to let you and your husband know that I will be going to Vincent's apartment sometime soon and will be able to ship anything you may want of his. I'm sure he would appreciate you having s-some things of his. "

"Oh my," a hint of glee escaped Patricia's voice. "That would be very nice, but of course, please take anything that you may want, dear."

"T-thank you," Cam sputtered. "And I want you to know that you and your family bear no obligation to…to…" She trailed off, she couldn't muster the energy to say it.

"Patricia, I'll talk to her." Vincent's father, James, could be heard saying over the phone through his wife's cracking voice. "We know that we don't know you very well, but we can tell you loved our boy, and that's enough for us. We would of course want to be a part of your life, of this-this grandchild's life..."

* * *

When Cam finished the tense, though somewhat gratifying phone call with Vincent's parents, she felt some alien part of herself start to develop. Not the part of becoming a mother, she had established that some time ago when she adopted Michelle. It was that thought that had developed into the little person in mere hours. It was gradually gaining more space in the world and in her conscious, but with that also came the realization that Vincent would not be there for this little person, no matter how much he would've wanted to.

This lead to her recalling the charming romantics between Hodgins and Angela, their bursting joy over their own baby. Their situation wasn't perfect, but at the end of the day they would still have each other. Their shared life would truly manifest into something beautiful, and both would be around to see it. In the few times Cam imagined having a baby, she always planned on sharing it with someone else, but now the prospect of doing it completely alone and being left with this gaping absence of love was almost too much to consider.

And the baby, be it boy or girl, would grow up and become their own person without a father. Vincent wouldn't be able to fret over possible names, spout an endless amount of facts about babies, or have the opportunity to be the excitable, bumbling dad she knew he could've been. She wasn't sure if she could bring herself to look at that baby, or even look at the ultrasound, without thinking of all he would miss.

As Cam walked back to the conference room, she met Booth in the hallway on his way back from the elevators. "Camille…" He began. "We got him, we got Broadsky."

Some part of Cam's face lit up with recognition, but it fizzled. "It's not going to change anything, though." Booth met her face with a knowing glance. "I feel like I've walked into some cruel parallel universe…seeing everyone in this miserable state and having to deal with these _things_ I could've never imagined." Her voice started to rise, feeling the weight of everything. It seemed like every aspect her life was left in ruin, every point of stability was refused.

He reached out and gently grabbed her shoulders. "Everyone feels as confused and hurt as you do, don't doubt that for a second. I wish I had been a bit nicer to Vincent and his little fact quips, and I'm sure there are some things you wished you could've done better too."

In her periphery, she noticed that they had woken up the rest of their group from the slouched positions around the conference table. Seeing their friends, Booth guided Cam back into the room.

"I just met with an agent downstairs, and they got Broadsky." He announced to his groggy, sorrowful friends.

The rest of the group had a similar response to Cam's, some glimmer of hope followed by the grim realization. "At least you've got the bastard locked up, that's the most we can ask for I guess." Hodgins piped with a mix of frustration and sadness.

Booth took another deep breath. "There's something else." He produced from his pocket a small blue box and a folded piece of notebook paper. Meeting Cam's eyes, he said: "The coroner doing the autopsy on Vincent found these in his pocket."

The air was completely stripped from Cam's lungs as the significance of the box slowly registered in her foggy head. Her clammy hands took the small box and gingerly opened it. Inside the box lay a ring, a silver band with one square diamond with two smaller ones on each of its sides.

When the wave of emotion completely broke upon her, she numbly sat down in front of it and held her face in her hands.

"Oh my god," Angela muttered, sadness building in her throat.

"H-he knew…" Cam said wanly.

Hodgins cleared his throat. "That'd be my fault…"Hodgins said before his own sniffles. She looked up at him with some mix of gratitude, but still a twinge of sorrow. Gingering, she unfolded the paper beneath the ring and began to read it to herself.

 _Camille,_

 _Though I am a proud man of science and reason and carefulness, I can't be bothered with that right now. I am entrusting all faith into my purest emotions when I tell you that I am just so in love with you. I want to marry you not out of helping you with this baby, our baby, but because I don't want to miss a single second of their life and because I want to forever share each other's_ _. I would be the happiest man in the world if you would be willing to share yours just the same._

When she finished, she placed it back on the table and returned her face to her protective hands. "I don't know if I can do this." She didn't want to say it, but right now her brain wasn't bothering with what she should or shouldn't do. "It's too much for one person...Not even overnight I turned into a woman on the brink of spinsterhood into a widowed single mother—again."

"But Cam," Brennan began with a trying tone and quivering chin. "You two weren't married."

Cam gave herself a moment to catch her breath. "I think I would've, though. If he had been able to ask me, I would've said yes. But I couldn't even say that I loved him until he was dying right in front of me, I couldn't even allow him that much." Her chest heaved again, causing a shared twinge of regret to fall on all of them.

"You can't blame yourself, Cam." Sweets offered. "No one could realize this was coming, it's natural for everyone to have some regrets about how they wished to have treated Vincent when he was still with us.

Angela sighed. "He was so bright, wasn't he? When he'd come into work he'd rarely complain about his own life, but instead be completely invested helping with the case or simply with trying to make us smile with his facts."

"Just…always looking out for others, no matter what." Hodgins continued, breathlessly.

Brennan's eyes began bubbling with tears again. "I don't want to believe he's gone." Booth went to her side, letting her tears soak into him once again.

"I'm going to take Bones home," Booth said, wiping away the hint of a tear. "You guys are free to go home now and get some real rest."

"If we even can…" Sweets added.

"Cam?" Angela said, face full of what warmth it could muster. "Did you want help with Vincent's apartment?"

Cam took another deep breath, wiping away the new tears from her eyes. "No, Angela, thank you though. You all need to get some legitimate sleep. I'll be fine."

* * *

Rick, Vincent's roommate, had left the apartment unlocked for Cam. Opening the creaky door, she surveyed the apartment and realized how differently she considered it now. There was the small side table where he would place his backpack and keys with the hook nearby for his lab coat where they would never be placed again. There was the cheap hardwood floors that Cam had definitely received her fair share of splinters from.

Walking through the apartment, her eyes fell on the simple rug that covered said cheap floors in front of the TV that rested underneath a small, wooden coffee table. Behind it the coffee table was the unassuming grey couch, the place where they had first made love. Then there was the kitchen not far past the living room with it's cramped layout and table that she had sat at not two nights ago.

Finally, Cam came to Vincent's room. This was a difficult place to process, naturally. She remembered seeing him shuffle between his closet and dresser the morning after while she was laying in his bed. _"Why are you smiling at me like that?"_ He would often ask with a smile himself as she giggled at his intensity for the dressing routine. Then there was of course the times they were both in bed; they would either be deep in passion or sleeping with great ease and comfort, she so relished the mornings where she could just lay and watch him sleep. She even appreciated the times when he would be deeply consumed in work at his desk which sat across from his bed. _"Oh no...if I don't figure out this lab Dr. Brennan will be so disappointed."_ He would say in panic. Of course, Cam had taken all of these small moments for granted.

Attempting to ignore her lurching heart, Cam decided to begin going through his dresser. It sat on the left side of the bed, his side of the bed, and was only four drawers tall. It was what was on top of the dresser, however, that stopped her. Along with an alarm clock, a lamp, some change, and a postcard sat a picture with a brown frame. It was a somewhat new addition to Vincent's room which was why she was only noticing it now.

Inspecting the picture closer, Cam's heart skipped a beat. It had been taken on their fifth date at the Founding Fathers quite a time ago.

 _"Excuse me, sir?" Vincent reached over the bar with his camera, getting the attention of the bartender. "Would you terribly mind taking a picture of me and my fine lady friend?" He said with a slur, growing somewhat tipsy. The tough bartender rolled his eyes, but took the camera._

 _"No no no Vincent, we can't!" Cam said, pushing her long dark hair over her shoulder. A laugh betrayed her protest, however, as she was growing somewhat drunk herself._

 _"Shshshsh." He replied, taking her hand tightly in his on top of the bar counter. He leaned in and kissed her cheek, sparking another stroke of laughter in Cam as the camera clicked._

She realized he must've looked at that picture every morning, and the idea made her throat constrict. Maybe she couldn't go back to those days of sheer excitement, passion, and love; maybe she hadn't wanted to take the time to fully realize their importance at the time. Life could only go forward, without him, but still with her memories and her baby, _their_ baby.

 **Author's Note: This is so sad and I'm so deep into the AU aspect at this point, but I must finish. One more chapter…**


	7. Aida Hany Murray-Saroyan

**Author's Note: I feel obligated to remind everyone again that this headcanon sprung from the mind of a middle schooler who wa into Tumblr. Why am I revisiting it six years later? Quarter life crisis, probably. This is also a longgg chapter and you may cry. Enjoy anyhow. ~~**

 **I refuse to disclaim ownership of Bones. Please arrest me Hart Hanson aND Kathy Reichs.**

* * *

 _It started out with butterflies on a velvet afternoon,_

 _but flashing eyes and promises caught and held too soon,_

 _It Started Out So Nice, Rodriguez_

5 Months Later

"Cam? We're still on for birthing class this afternoon, right?" Michelle said from the dining table as Cam hurried to make breakfast. Between all of Cam's doctor's appointments, work, and counseling it was never easy to tie her down to one thing.

"Yes, of course sweetie." Cam replied, though with a pained face as she held her aching back. And to think how awful she thought the morning sickness was, for no amount of baby books or advice from Angela could prepare her for the endless aches, pains, and adjustments. Brennan, about five months pregnant herself, frequently regarded these adjustments as "marvels of our evolutionary history," much to Cam's annoyance.

"Oh no," Michelle said getting up, reaching for the eggs Cam was making. "Let me help you."

"Michelle, no, you have to get ready for class." Cam winced.

Michelle rolled her eyes at her mother's protest. "You're never going to let anyone give you a hand, will you? And besides, it's the least I can do."

As Cam sat down-watching Michelle expertly handle the scrambled eggs-she considered how selfless Michelle had become since the pregnancy. She had gamely offered up not only her room to the new baby, but also deferred from university for a year to take community college classes in order to stay at home.

The day that Cam was truly able to appreciate how much Michelle had changed was when Cam came back from her first birthing class that. Cam was not terribly excited about the concept, but Angela demanded she take, claiming that it would be "such an enlightening experience." What Cam had neglected to consider was the amount of couples in attendance, couples who were completely wrapped in pregnancy merriment, only proving as a stark reminder for how she had meant to be doing these kinds of things with someone.

Grief was one thing, but having a kicking baby, sore feet, back pain, a decorated nursery and even a broken heart as a constant reminder of it was another thing. When Cam came back from class she completely broke down-a considerably easy thing to do with her pregnancy hormones-and Michelle demanded that she would go with Cam as her partner. "We have to do this together, we are a family after all." Michelle had said as they held each other on the living room floor.

"Did you find out what you're having yet?" Michelle asked excitedly from the kitchen. "Oh, I want to know already!

"No," Cam gave a slight laugh. "I don't want to find out yet, and besides I only have a month left."

"A little girl would be so cute though! She could play with all of my old dolls and we could give her such cute outfits." Michelle turned away from the eggs. "But, a boy would be adorable and probably so funny." She squealed.

Cam playfully rolled her eyes. Though her attitude didn't always express it, she was excited about the baby, especially after seeing Michael born. It hadn't been the easiest thing to adjust to, especially with Vincent gone, but it did really feel like a blessing. All of the awkwardness with her doctors and sorrowful looks from her coworkers fell away when she considered how lucky she was to still have this piece of him, as Vincent's father had told her.

With a smile, she thought about how she had decorated the little person's nursery. Though nontraditional decorations, she had hung up the picture of Vincent from his file, the crumpled piece of paper where he had written his proposal, and the old picture of the two of them from his apartment above the baby's future crib. Sometimes when she'd walk past the display, the old memories would pull her in and she'd often imagine how different her life might've been if that day simply hadn't happened.

The crib was one of many new additions to Cam's condo; there was Vincent's old dresser, now full of diapers and toys, a changing table, other newfound baby technology, high chair, and of course the grey couch from Vincent's apartment that she had squeezed into her own living room. Recalling how much she had to pay Rick, Vincent's roommate, to take the couch made her laugh. At that point, it would've been much cheaper just to buy a new one, but those memories were priceless.

Cam emerged from her subconscious drift when Michelle placed breakfast on the table. "Are you still going to work?" Michelle prodded.

"Michelle, I can't _not_ go to work." Cam said. She knew Michelle was coming from a sincere place, but Cam certainly wasn't going to just stay home and let herself go stir crazy with nothing to do. "I'm letting go of some responsibility, sometimes, but it's not easy with Brennan being pregnant and with Hodgins and Angela's newborn."

Michelle nodded, knowingly. The baby fever that had hit their Jeffersonian team was quite strange, but Booth and Brennan had certainly been the most shocking aspect of it. However, it certainly wasn't the most unwelcomed thing the team had encountered.

* * *

When Cam arrived at work, she did take a second to criticize herself for refusing to cave on wearing her high heels while pregnant. It was very painful, and most certainly not the only thing draining thing she had refused to give up on, but she deemed it an extremely important aspect of her authority. She could delegate _some_ responsibility to other people, but at the end of the day she was the only one wearing three inch heels.

This week, the team was trying to crack the scandalous case of a murdered sex worker. A year ago, the team would've been abuzz over the nature of the case, but with everyone either being pregnant, sleep deprived, or both it took a lot to excite them nowadays, but they were all doing their best.

Walking onto the platform, Cam adjusted her somewhat awkward maternity clothes for what would be one of many times throughout the day. "Good morning, everyone. Any breakthroughs with the case so far?" Cam greeted Brennan, Angela, Hodgins, and Arastoo.

Brennan was on a level with the relatively meaty corpse, inspecting the body's wrists. "There appears to be some kind of wear on the victim's wrists, possibly from hand cuffs." It was quite a sight to see Brennan still such a dedicated worker considering her condition. Furthermore, it was a miracle to see her get so close to the flesh that she would so often avoid. Though the smell never bugged Cam, her pregnancy had actually managed to trigger some sickness.

"Hodgins, maybe you could take a look at the wrists to see if maybe you could get some trace of the material used on the handcuffs?" Cam said as she analyzed the body with Brennan, much to her stomach's dismay.

"Hm?" Hodgins' eyes blinked open, clearly swept away by sleep. "What was that?" He muttered.

"You fell asleep again…" Cam said coldly.

Angela yawned. "Hey, just you wait until your baby arrives and then come talk to us."

"Actually, fussy babies are typically a product of an over-active environment. I read it in a baby book Booth picked up for me." Brennan added, somewhat proudly.

"I resent that, sweetie." Angela said, crossing her arms.

"I am simply trying to foster an environment of prenatal camaraderie."

Arastoo rushed between the women. "Okay, okay ladies let's be cordial. I'm sure Angela is just somewhat cranky and misunderstood Dr. Brennan's intentions."

Hodgins' eyes widened as he stepped up to Arastoo. "Oh no, buddy, don't you dare try and say that _my_ wife is cranky."

"Enough!" Cam yelled. "We're all under enough pressure as it is, we don't need to have another murder victim to examine. Hodgins, tell Arastoo that you're sorry." It seemed that Cam's parenting skills were still alive and well.

"Oh no, I'm sorry, Angela. You're right…I really don't have a complete understanding on all that you guys are going through." Arastoo spouted apologetically. It took genuine sincerity to try and level with a vengeful, cranky Hodgins, Cam thought.

Cam made a sharp wince, holding her stomach. "Oh geez." She said.

"Is everything alright?" Brennan asked.

Cam sighed in response. "Just kicking away; who knew it would hurt so much?"

Angela scoffed. "Oh honey, just you wait until you have the thing. Kicks will feel like nothing; I promise you.

"Oh, don't remind me." Cam made a face, but took a deep breath. "Let's try and keep our focus, okay?"

* * *

Having stripped the body of its flesh, Cam and Arastoo were now scrutinizing the bones for any emerging details.

"Hm," Arastoo began. "There are definitely some traces of damage to the ribs, right here." He indicated the irregularities.

"Yes, you're right. But I'm not sure the damage was enough to break them and puncture a lung, perhaps just a fracture." When Cam finished, her face was overcome with another stroke of pain.

"Dr. Saroyan? Are you okay?" Panic began rising in Arastoo's voice.

With a wave of her hand, she dismissed the concern. "Please, do not worry about me. This happens so often now you just get used to it."

His expression softened, a mix of concern with something else Cam couldn't pinpoint. "But are you okay, just in general? Just with…you know." He asked.

Cam looked up at him, somewhat stunned. She rarely wanted to talk about it. Phone calls to Vincent's parents was sad enough, not to mention her grief counseling and occasional probing by Sweets. Her brows furrowed. "I'm doing the best I can, I guess."

"But, sometimes it's good to talk about these things. If you just keep it contained, you can distance yourself…" He trailed off, but he was sort of right. It was simply too difficult of a situation to delve into with Brennan, Booth, Angela, Sweets, and Hodgins, or even with James and Patricia. Looking down at the diamond ring on her finger, she considered how they were all bearing the same hurt. While this baby did make her emotional strain somewhat more intense, no one wanted to be forced to relive it unless absolutely necessary.

"Some days are better than others; i-it's inevitable that I think about him, Vincent I mean." Her breathing was somewhat shallow. "And it's not always easy to think that once this baby arrives all of the grief and regret will melt away. It's too much pressure to place on them." Meeting his sparkling eyes, she continued, "One has to simply appreciate what they still have, I suppose."

Arastoo's expression grew even sadder, but in that instance Booth walked in.

"Just got an identification from the victim's dental records, missing woman named Veronica-" Booth paused when he understood the tense air. "Camille, are you alright?"

Cam's face was constricted in another fit of pain as the clutched her stomach. "Just another kick…I think." Her face became blank then awash with panic when she registered the warm liquid that began puddling at her feet.

Booth's and Cam's eyes met in panic. "Booth," Cam's breath hitched. "No, it's too early-!"

He rushed over to Cam and grabbed her shoulders. "We have to get you to the hospital, now, okay? This is happening, we gotta do it."

Cam's face strained again, now in pain and mounting nerves. "A-Arastoo, you're in charge!" She shouted at the freshly shaken intern as Booth guided her out of the exam room.

"Baby…coming…now!" Is all Booth could manage over Cam squeezing his hand in pain.

Sweets practically flew off of the platform. "The baby's coming early?! How far apart are your contractions? Who's your doctor? What's your breathing technique?" He bombarded Cam.

Booth raised a hand to his chest. "Sweets, take it down a notch, actually several dozen notches." Angela, Hodgins, and Brennan quickly followed him.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my _god!_ " Angela exclaimed.

"Oh my god indeed." Brennan added.

* * *

Cam, Brennan, Angela and Hodgins squeezed into the back seat with Sweets sitting in the front, constantly looking back in worry while Booth manned the wheel to the hospital.

"Booth! Can't you go any faster?!" Brennan shouted.

"I'm trying, Bones! I have the siren on and I'm going as fast as I can!" Booth yelled back. They were all feeding off of each other's hysterics. "Can someone call Michelle?"

"I've got it!" Sweets responded.

Cam raised a hand to Hodgins. "I-I need you to call," She winced as another contraction came. "Call Vincent's parents."

"But it's probably so late in England right now…!" Hodgins said flustered.

"Do it!" Angela, Cam, and Brennan shouted in unison. Hodgins shakily nodded and fumbled with Cam's cell phone.

When they finally made it to the hospital, their assembled group was quite comical; six adults either shouting into phones or shouting at each other.

A male nurse with a shaved head and beaming eyes met them with a wheelchair for Cam. "Woah! Are we having ourselves a baby?" He said with a grin that was so cheerful it annoyed the laboring Cam, what else did he think she was doing? "Who is a part of her family?"

At that moment, Michelle practically flew down the hallway to meet them. "Cam! Cam! Oh my god, Dr. Sweets called me!" She grabbed Cam's hand as she sat in the wheelchair.

"And who might you be?" The nurse asked, retaining his calm and cheerful demeanor.

"Her daughter!" Michelle screamed, fully agitated.

"Ok, ok, let's not make mama bear any more nervous." The nurse supplied; this made Cam somewhat less annoyed with him.

"We're all like her family!" Angela pleaded.

The nurse signed a bit, but the second of frustration quickly evaporated. He clasped his hands together. "Well, I'm sure we'll all fit! This little one seems excited to get out! Let's go!" He began pushing Cam to the correct delivery room with the rest of the party following like young ducklings.

Once Cam had gotten into a dressing gown and into the bed, they all piled into the already cramped delivery room. The cheerful, though now flustered nurse, was accompanied by Cam's doctor. Dr. Amber was an older woman with chestnut colored hair with a stern demeanor that Cam _very much_ appreciated. As Dr. Amber sat down at the foot of the bed, Michelle, Angela, and Hodgins flanked Cam's right while Brennan, Booth, and Sweets occupied her other side.

"Is everything…okay? I thought I had more time…" Cam asked shakily, not really sure if she wanted an answer or not.

"Oh, everything is fantastic!" The nurse beamed. Dr. Amber raised her free hand in front of the nurse.

"Eric, let's try and mellow out a bit, right?" Eric immediately clammed up. "Camille, everything is fine, but you are certainly having contractions. I know we're a month early here, but this baby is happening now." Dr. Amber did some examining between Cam's legs, though slightly to her embarrassment considering she was in fact surrounded by her coworkers, no matter how buddy-buddy they all were.

"In fact, your cervix nearly 4 centimeters already." Amber continued, surprise growing in her voice.

"W-what does that mean?!" Sweets asked nervously, only amplifying the high emotions in the room.

"It means that her cervix is halfway dilated, educate yourself Sweets, even I know that!" Booth said. Brennan's head whipped around to look at him, "Booth! This is not the time for a pissing contest!"

With almost too perfect timing, Cam's face mounted the pain of another contraction. Brennan instinctively took her left hand, and Michelle took the other. A whimper managed to escape Cam's mouth as she squeezed the two loving hands with great intensity.

"The contractions are on a pattern right now, but they're starting to come faster." Dr. Amber said, holding one of Camille's knees. "When I ask you to push, you're going to have to be ready okay?"

Cam winced again. "But I'm not ready," she said, face full of worry. It wasn't the pain, it wasn't even the impeding existence of the baby, but the overwhelming absence of the person who wanted most to be here with her. "I can't!"

Hodgins got an intense look on his face. "No, Cam, you can do anything. You manage to wrangle our sorry asses for god sake, you help us do the most important and daunting work imaginable. You're a tough ass."

"Sweetie, think of Vincent." Angela supplied, holding her other knee. "He may not be here right now, but c'mon we all know he wanted you and this baby more than anything. And we'll be here for you, every step of the way."

 _Now the wurs were chasing other rainbows,_

 _Trying to find where the wind blows_

 _To empty corners, past dusty memories,_

It happened quicker than Cam expected, and she processed it much slower. The significance of the crying, wrinkled, purple, little person that Dr. Amber and nurse Eric were holding didn't immediately connect in her mind it was such a jolt to her system.

"It's a girl!" Eric shrieked from the changing table. Michelle, still squeezing Cam's hand, gave her a look of pure joy. All swaddled and weighed, Eric brought the baby to Cam's arms. She's so small, Cam thought, as the baby cried and waved its little fists. The tears first began with Michelle, quickly followed by Cam, and then ultimately trickled into the eyes of everyone in the room.

"What are we going to name her?" Cam asked Michelle as they shared in the marvel of the baby.

"I like Aida…" Michelle supplied as she reached for the baby's small hands. "Aida Hany Murray-Saroyan." Whispering, as if just to the baby.

As Cam held Aida, everyone circled around her as if she was a prized mother hen. "She's just perfect."

"Oh, she is sweetie." Angela said, getting on a level with the stunning infant. "And trust me, you're going to want to spend hours just gawking at her."

Cam chuckled at this. "Yes, I could definitely get used to that."

Aida's fussing softened and she took hold of Cam's ring finger. Her eyes now fluttered open, and it caused Cam's throat to tighten. As Aida marveled at Cam's ring, the three diamonds reflected a sparkle into two pools of brilliant cobalt blue, a blue that Cam thought she would never be able to see again.

* * *

 **Author's Note: gAH my 13 year-old self is bawling right now.**

 **I wanted to make the slight veer into the canon with the introduction of Arastoo and Cam's relationship just to make the story slightly hopeful and more grounded (THOUGH tbqh I feel like their pairing was just lazy writing AND my vimille heart still hurts so so much to see Cam with someone else, but that's a rant for another time.) But rest-assured Cam wouldn't immediately jump into another romance super quickly; I just feel like he could be an adorable step dad. Also, the sex worker case was a reference to an old vimille fic that an old friend of mine had written. It was taken down, but I've posted a salvaged link to it in my bio in case anyone is interested. Also posted a couple other cute vimille things. :)**

 **Just a big thank you to everyone who's taken the time to read this story, it was just a little thing I decided to start on a long train ride, but its been so fun and gratifying and I'm so glad people like it.**


	8. (Bonus) No Perhaps, Maybe, or Possibly

**Author's Note: Gahhhh I just couldn't be done yet; I wanted to end with something stupidly happy. Enjoy this AU of the AU, a meta-alternate universe if you will, if Vincent survived the assassination because truly happy endings can be nice sometimes. :~)**

 **Also ,if you're still on a vimille kick I've posted some links to some cute stories/things outside ff .net on my profile, I'd just love to share them. :,)**

* * *

"Well, that was dramatic." Cam said, sitting at the side of Vincent's hospital bed, holding his hand in hers. She took a second to slyly brush away the hint of a tear that was building in her eye. They truly weren't sure if he was going to be saved considering Broadsky's consistent severity of his attacks, but they had gotten very lucky and were able to save him with only minor damage.

"Quite," Vincent laughed, but with a degree of strain. "Did you know that the wings of a bumble bee beats at 130 times or more per second?"

Cam gave him one of her trademark "somewhat irritated but still not completely mad" looks at him. "You've been conscious for barely an hour, mister, this is not the time."

"Oh, but facts keep my focused, focused on the important things." He looked at her, knowingly, and squeezed her hand. His eyes glanced over to the ring box sitting with a few other personal effects, card, and balloons on a table nearby. "Well, I guess one could say the cat is out of the bag…"

"Me too, apparently." She responded with a nervous laugh. Tucking some hair behind her ear, she met his eyes again. "I wanted to tell you myself, obviously, but it was so…complicated." She considered his comforting face, expression still adorable and eyes still sparkling even after all he had been through. "I was very worried about what it would mean for me, for us. There was a resistance to give myself to fully to someone, two someones actually." She glanced at her stomach, a resistant smile building.

"And I should've told you, I should've told you that I actually loved you that morning. Heck, _I_ should've said it far before that. I should've at least let you tell your parents about us for god sake." Tears were welling in her eyes now.

"No no no," Vincent bumbled, reaching over to hold both of her hands. "I know that you were never reserved with me because you didn't like me, I understand that; If we fret in the past, though, we can't be invested in the future. And goodness, do we have a quite a future." He smiled, finally taking a chance to completely consider their little person.

Staring at his unwavering smile and being overcome with his genuine sense of love and appreciation, she felt a jolt somewhere deep in herself. "Hold on," She said getting up from Vincent's bedside.

She brought over the ring box and sat back down. Both were holding their breath as they stared intently at the imposing object. Vincent tried to sit up in his bed, reaching for it.

"No," Cam whined. She took a deep breath and held Vincent's hand over the box. "Vincent," she began. "I want to…marry you not because I think I need to, and not just because of how caring, sincere, and thoughtful you are. I do love you, and I think I'm starting to love this little person too, and I want to give as much as I can to the two of you; I truly don't want to live without you." She finished, breathlessly.

"Oh," The complete emotion washed over him. "I would've married you six months ago." He said with a chuckle, reaching for the box. She helped him open it, revealing the stunning yet simple three diamond arrangement. Gently, he slipped it onto her finger, both lost in the reflectively finery that emitted from the jewels.

"Did you know that in Japan the term they use for a shotgun wedding actually translates to 'oops-we-did-it-marriage?" He piped.

"So not the time…"


End file.
